PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. - Grace's baseball team earned its 20th win of the season, leading wire to wire against Trinity Christian in its final non-conference contest of the year. The 7-4 win gives the Lancers their second 20-win season under head coach Ryan Roth, who earned his 100th career victory earlier this year.

Grace earned its fifth 20-win season in team history.

Additionally, Jose Ayala set the program record for most doubles in a season with his 19th double, passing Houston Haney's mark of 18 set in 2018.

From the first inning onward, Grace (20-26, 11-21 CL) was in control of the scoreboard. The visitors manufactured the first run of the game in their first at bat with textbook execution. Maximo De Leon earned a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, stole third and scored on a ground ball to the shortstop.

The Lancers loaded the bases in the second with the lone run of the inning coming on a sac fly from John Joyce.

The next at bat included two more runs touching home. Grace took advantage of wild pitching that was partnered with solid hitting to make it 4-0 after three innings played. Three walks, an RBI double from Jose Ayala and a passed ball accounted for two runs.

The Lancers stretched the lead to seven with three runs in the seventh frame. This time, defensive miscues from the Trolls aided in the run scoring opportunities. Throwing errors on Bradyn McIntosh and Alex Rudolph's grounders allowed a trio of runs to score.

Trinity Christian wasn't ready to go away. The home team scored two runs in back-to-back innings to close the gap heading into the final inning. The deficit, however, would stay at three with Kyle Showley shutting down the ninth to get the save.

Joey Diaz picked up the win on the mound, and his effort on the mound was sensational throughout. He took a perfect game into the seventh inning before running into minor trouble. He fanned eight batters in 7.0 innings of work. Aiden McSherry pitched the eighth before Showley finished the game.

Ayala had the only multi-hit game for Grace, going 3 for 5 with 1 RBI and 3 runs. McIntosh and Carter Stogsdill each finished with 1 hit and 1 run.

The Lancers head into the final homestand of the year with a three-game lead in the league standings for the final spot in the conference tournament. The regular-season finale against Bethel is set to begin on Thursday at 1 p.m., culminating with Senior Day on Saturday at 1 p.m at Tom Roy - UPI Park.